Improvement in packings for oil-wells



NTTED STATES PATENT (Junren.

OWEN REDMOND, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO RUFUS F.

\ OSGOOD, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT |`N PACKINGS FOR OIL-WELLS.v

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,319, dated October30, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, OWEN REDMOND, of Rochester, in the county of Monroeand State of New York, have invented certain new and 'usefulImprovements in Packings for Oil- Wells; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full and exact description thereof, reference bein ghad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a central vertical section of my improved packing device,situated in the shaft of' an oil-well and around the elevating-tube;Fig. 2, an elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a crosssection in the plane ofline cc cc, Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in all thegures.

In oil-wells it is necessary to employ a packing device of' some kindaround the elevatingtube, and lling the area of the shaft or bore of thewell, in order to prevent the surfacewafer from running in with the oil.

The ordinary packing is what is known as the seed-bag, a bag securedfast to the tubing at a suitable position and filled with flax seed,which, when the tubing is adjusted in place, swells on becoming wet, andpacks both around the tube and against the walls of the Well.

The great difficulty with this kind of pack.

ing is that it is non-adjustable, so that if it is fixed in place toohigh or too low, it cannot be changed or adjusted without removing thetubing from the well, a labor of great difficulty and risk, as the wellis liable to become' injured thereby, as is well known. Anotherdifficulty is that the seed soon rots, and in order to replace thepacking the tubing must be removed.

It is the object of my improvement to remedy these difficulties; and theinvention consists, primarily, in the employment of an adjustablepacking device sliding up and down on the central elevating-tube, beingoperated from the top of the well by wires, rods, chains, cords, orequivalent, and packing both the shaft or bore of the well and theelevating-tube, so as to prevent the passage of water downward. Theessential advantages attained are that the packing can be raised andlowered to adapt it to any desiredposition, or can be entirely removedfrom the well without raising the elevating-tube.

As'represeuted in the drawings, A is the shaft or bore of the well, andB the elevating or oil tube.

- The packing device may be of any construction that will secure thefollowing effects, viz., slide up and down on the centralelevating-tube, so as to be fixed in position at any desired placewithout removing the tubing,

and pack both the shaft and tube. I prefer that represented in thedrawings, which is of the following construction:

Around the elevating-tube B lits a cylinder or tube, C, of suitablelength, sliding freely up or down over the oil-tube, and preferably madeof considerable weight. To the lower portion is attached, at a, in anysuitable manner, a dish-shaped disk or rim, b, of buckskin, leather, orother suitable flexible material, which is for the purpose of packingoutward against the walls of the well, when the proper mecha-nical partsare applied to operate if, as will presently be described.

To the top of the cylinder O is attached a flexible collar, c, whichpacks against the oiltube B, as clearly represented. The weight of thepacking device is made sufficient to carry it down over the voil-tubeeasily, and in raising it will usually come up without difficulty 5 or,if desired, small wires or cords d d, Fig. 2, may be employed for thepurpose. I prefer to insert a small ring, c, in the upper end to keep itopen.

It will be seen' that if both the disk b and collar c are packedtightlyr no water can escape through from above to the oil below.

Around the cylinder O, near its upper end and between shoulders ff, issituated a collar or sleeve, D, turning loosely, and having at its top abeveled cog-rim, g, and on its side a screw-thread, h.

Outside this collar is situated another collar or sleeve, E, whichserves as a nut, its interior surface being also cut into ascrewfthread, li, that engages with h. This latter collar can movevertically up or down, but is not allowed to turn, by reason of arms 7c7c, which pass loosely down through sockets in a circular wedge, G, andhave heads l l on their lower ends.

The wedge Gis simply a hollow head whose lower edge is beveled, asshown, and which slides freely up and down, but is prevented fromturning by means of a feather, on, Fig. 2, that ts in a correspondinggroove in the wedge or some equivalent device. The lower edge of thecollar E rests on top the wedge to force it down, and the lower bevelededge of the wedge rests in the upper open end of .the flexibledish-shaped disk b.

Thus it will be perceived that if the collar D be turned, the collar Ewill be forced down as a nut, and consequently, also, the wedge G,whichexpands the packing b out against the sides of the well.

In raising to release the packing, the heads ZZ of the arms k k strikeshoulders m'm' of the wedge on the under side, and thereby draw it up.

On a bearing, n, near the top of the cylinder O, is situated a beveledpinion, o, which gears with the cog-rim g. This pinion is fast with asmall wheel or disk, p, which receives motion either by means of a wireor cord, q, wound once or twice around in a groove in its periphery, asindicated in Fig. 2, or by a chain engaging with spurs on its periphery,as indicated in Fig. 1, or in some similar manner. In either case thewire, cord, or chain is double, and extends to the top of the well. Bythis means it will be seen that the wedge G may be tightened or loosenedat any time by simply operating the wire or chain, provided th?)cylinder C is fastened securely to the oiltu e.

I secu're the cylinder to the oil-tube at any desired position by meansof a screw, r, whose point, passing through the cylinder, strikesagainst the oil-tube, and, when tightened up, draws the cylinder sotightly to the tube that it cannot slip. The head ofthe screw is made ofconsiderable size and of a form similar to the wheel p, and has asimilar wire, cord, or chain, s, passing around it and extending to thetop of the well. This device is very simple and elfective, being easilyoperated and always holding the packing device securely in place.

In addition to operating the parts p if, the wires or chains may alsoserve to lower or raise the packing device in the well.

The arrangement thatlhave above described is but one simple form of anadjustable packingdevice for oil-wells. Many others may be used thatinvolve the same essential principle.

Notwithstanding similar devices have been patented, I believe myself tobe the first inventor of a packing device sliding on a central tubecapable 'of adjusting to a greater or less depth, being operated fromthe surface by means of wires, rods, cords, or chains, and

packing both against the walls of the well and the oil-tube. It will beperceived that in my case the tubing is adjustable up and.down withinthe packing, as well as the packing upon the tubing. To accomplish thisadjustment it is only necessary to release or expand the packing, asbeforedescribed, when the tubingis free to -slide up or down. Theadvantage of such a device is obvious.

The packing may bc adjusted to anyposition, higher or lower, in a fewminutes, or entirely removed. Thus, if it should be placed at first in awrong position, the true position can readily be determined byexperiment, and the packing soon fixed there. Or if the packing shouldbecome worthless, it can be replaced at any time without difficultyandwithout removing the tubing, a matter of the utmost importance, sincethe removing of the tubing frequently destroys the flow of oil. Wherethe ordinary seed-bag is employed, if it is fixed in a wrong` position,or if it becomes worthless, the whole tubing must be raised to remedythe dificulty, and the remedy is frequently worse than the difficultyitself.

An expanding packing is common in pumps and engines, fitting in an opencylinder 5 but such is not the equivalent of my device, which fits notsimply in an open cylinder, but in a bore or shaft, and slides up anddown on a central tube, and packs both the shaft and the tube. In orderto operate several hundred feet below the surface of the earth a deviceof a peculiar and original kind is required.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A packing device for artesian wells, packing both the tubing and thesides of the well, when the said device is capable either of beingadjusted higher or lower upon the tubing, or, vice versa, the tubingadjusted higher or lower within the packing, substantially as speoied.

2. The combination of the hollow wedge Gr and screw-collars D E, for thepurpose of expanding the packing-disk b, substantially as described.

3. Securing the packing device to the oiltube at any position by meansof the screw 1*, provided with a head or riin around which passes awire, cord, or chain, s, substantially as specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

OWEN REDMOND.

Witnesses:

It. F. OscooD, J. A. Davis.

